FOREIGN POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, pages: 143 - 170, 2018

The Republic of Moldova in the Framework of the Eastern Partnership and Prospects for Relations with the Russian Federation

Abstract: This paper is an in-depth analysis of the role of the Republic of Moldova in the Eastern Partnership and its influence on relations with the Russian Federation. The analysis of the role of the Republic of Moldova in the Eastern Partnership and the prospects for relations with the Russian Federation are necessary, given that the interests of the European Union and Russia intersect in Eastern Europe, and Moldova has been in the past 10 years between East and West. In the situation created Moldova finds itself between two regional powers – the EU and Russia. The European Union, as well as the Russian Federation, are major partners for the Republic of Moldova, and the orientation to the east or west often depends on political desire. The Republic of Moldova is one of the countries in Eastern Europe where Russia, by various methods, tries to maintain its influence, directing all forces against the EU enlargement to the East. In the context of the Republic of Moldova’s rapprochement with the EU, the main geostrategic interest of the Russian Federation is to maintain control over the former Soviet republics. And in order to maintain its status of great power, Russia needs to maintain its influence, including its military presence in Moldova, as a tool for exerting political pressure. However, the current reality, namely that the draft resolution proposed by the Republic of Moldova on “The complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign military forces on the territory of the Republic of Moldova” was adopted at the UN General Assembly on June 22, 2018, questions the continuation of the presence Russian military in the Transnistrian region.